Phil Mickelson is going into yet another season hoping that 2018 will be when he finally completes the box set of majors.The 47-year-old has won five major titles, including the Masters three times, and has only failed to win the US Open.Frustratingly, he has finished runner-up in that event a massive six times, and with the quality he possesses he certainly deserves to finish off the set.It is now just a month until the first major of the season, when the golfing world will once again head to Augusta for the Masters.It will be the 25th time Mickelson has appeared at the event in Georgia, which is some achievement, and he will be confident as ever that he can pick up the green jacket once more.However, his preparations at the WGC-Mexico Championship led to a rather embarrassing moment for Mickelson.The American is only two shots behind the leader Shubhankar Sharma, and he made a bit of a mess of the first meeting between the pair.Sharma, who hails from India, approached Mickelson on the practice green before the third round of the tournament, and didn't quite get the response he was expecting.The 21-year-old described the five-time major champion as a "legend", but will have been taken aback by this.

Mickelson actually mistook the up-and-coming star for a reporter, which is quite an astonishing mistake to make on the leader of the tournament.

And Sharma confirmed in a later interview that it happened as reported.

"Me and my caddie went up to [Mickelson]. He thought we were media and he said, 'Not right now, after the round,'" Sharma admitted.

"Then he just realised and said, ‘So sorry, I thought you were media.' He said 'hi.' I said 'hi.'

"Then he made a few putts and he came back to me and said, 'Have a good day.' It was nice."

If Sharma manages to hold on, it would be his first ever victory on the PGA Tour, having already amassed two on the European Tour.

He won his first at the Joburg Open in December, and followed that up last month by taking the title at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia a month ago.

By contrast, Mickelson has 42 PGA Tour wins and nine on the European circuit.

Whether the Indian manages to hold on, he will certainly learn a lot from playing with Mickelson later today.

On the other hand, the 47-year-old might learn to always check who is at the top of the leaderboard before mistaking them for the press.